China's aggressive ‘periphery diplomacy’ and South Korean perspectives

In this special section, the present article reviews South Korean perspectives on China's ‘periphery diplomacy’ with a focus on Chinese behaviour with respect to the East China Sea maritime territory and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). By analysing research papers published by various Korean research institutions and academic journals, this article demonstrates that most Korean scholars hold that as long as China's growth goes on, the tensions between the US and China are likely to intensify. The article also shows that one of the primary concerns of South Korean scholars lies in the question of how South Korea should respond to changing regional orders and a rising China. The article argues that South Korea's strategic dilemma is reflected in a regional structure in which competition between two great powers has recently forced the periphery to impose bilateral ties on.     

反事实分析与公共政策制定——以“自行车难题”为例

本文尝试将反事实分析法引入公共政策制定,用于预先评估某项公共政策可能引发的预期效果和非意愿后果。选取城市治理中的"自行车难题"为案例,探讨反事实分析法在公共政策制定过程中的适用范围、应用方法和分析过程。现有研究认为,惩罚成本过低是导致"自行车难题"的主因,因而提高惩罚的治理政策就能解决"自行车难题"。本文采用犯罪经济学的分析框架,通过反事实分析,系统地考察惩罚严厉的治理政策的社会效果,得出与之相反的结论:惩罚严厉的治理政策仅考虑了单一的盗窃成本与收益,但实际上犯罪者的行为选择受各种社会条件制约,严厉的惩罚政策不但不能解决治理问题,并有可能导致社会治安恶化的非意愿后果。单一政策目标和复杂社会系统之间的矛盾是中国公共治理中广泛存在的问题,而在政策制定中引入反事实分析则是避免这一困境的有效途径。     

行政法视野下我国非政府组织合法性危机及其矫正

随着经济和社会纷纷步入转型期,我国社会的权力结构发生了变化。非政府组织的兴起改变了原来政府———市场的二元治理结构,推动着我国治理理念的转变以及民主法治的进步。然而,非政府组织蓬勃发展的同时也面临着内外交困的局面,从而引发了一系列的危机,尤其是合法性危机:一来其权力的来源缺乏明确的法律依据,二来缺乏代表性,再来独立性也受质疑。从行政法的视角分析了我国非政府组织合法性危机,并试图探索出解困之策。     

Satellites and the Security Dilemma

ABSTRACT

The paper examines the linkage between satellites and the security dilemma. There are currently over 2000 satellites in Earth orbit with various applications ranging from observations, remote sensing, telecommunications, to navigation, among other uses. This multitude of possible usages cause uncertainty concerning intentions and fear in the international system, which leads to security build-ups. This paper first looks at the dual-use nature of satellites and by giving examples, explains what exactly is meant by this. Second, it delves into the theories behind the security dilemma, especially analyzing the differences in theory between offensive and defensive weapons. And third, it builds on the theory concerning the security dilemma to examine how exactly satellites and their dual-use applications affect the dilemma.     

Coordination between electoral arenas in multilevel countries

This article shows the existence of a coordination dilemma in multilevel countries that hold elections for different parliaments, at different territorial levels and with different electoral rules. With evidence from Spain, the analysis identifies interaction or contamination effects between national and subnational electoral arenas that generate, just as in most mixed-member electoral systems, a centrifugal force that increases the number of electoral parties in national elections. The incentives that solve this coordination dilemma faced by small regional or local parties are theoretically discussed and empirically tested.     

English Radicalism and the Annihilation of the ‘Progressive Dilemma’

The rise of political nationalism in the early twenty‐first century threatens to subsume the ‘progressive dilemma’ as identified by David Marquand. The labourist tradition is collapsing culturally, the liberal tradition intellectually. In the face of a new politics of nativism across Europe and America, the labour movement needs to put the debate over the progressive dilemma behind it and find a new source of philosophical inspiration in the English radical tradition.     

Federal Grants and Local Capital Improvements: The Impact of Reagan Budgets

Changes in intergovernmental grants for local capital improvements during the Reagan Administration are explored from a national perspective and from the experiences of two mid-sized communities, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Toledo, Ohio. Nationally, a roller coaster pattern was identified with a strong down-turn in the most recent data and a notable shift from redevelopment to expansion/development grants such as highway and airport construction. Locally, the first dilemma is that the change in the mix of grants available is having a greater impact on the older Toledo than the newer Tulsa because their capital needs vary. Yet as federal grants declined, both cities responded affirmatively by raising new local revenues for capital improvements. The second dilemma is that the differences in their wealth and needs make revenue enhancement more difficult for Toledo than Tulsa.     

政府改革困境的制度结构性视角分析

目前,政府改革已成为我国经济改革和社会改革的关键,迫切需要我们深刻把握政府改革的规律.然而在现实中,政府改革面临着严重的实施困难,政府职能转变与政府机构改革双重不到位.从"国家悖论"与"政府失灵"理论出发,一般认为,政府改革面临的困境往往是由于政府制度变迁中制度供给主体缺失造成的,在理论上形成了难以深入分析的死结,也无助于政府改革的推进.认为,政府的角色冲突不是政府改革困境的根源和本质,而只是在考虑整体制度间均衡时的结果,忽略了政府的结构性特征;借鉴了公共管理理论中的政治家-官僚分析范式,以结构性分析的思路为主线,拓展了政府改革的两方博弈框架.从而认为政府改革困境的本质是政治家与官僚间在政府改革中的目标冲突与信息不对称;并分析了阻碍政府改革顺利推进的路径依赖效应与改革激励不足的问题.指出,要打破政府改革面临的困境,可以从改革的社会沟通与激励,财政约束,官僚机构的偏好与理念,以及全面长效监督等方面着手.     

The second-order dilemma of public goods and capital accumulation

The second-order dilemma arises from each individual’s incentive to free ride on a mechanism to solve the public goods provision problem (the first-order dilemma). We show by a voluntary participation game that if the depreciation rate is low, public goods can be accumulated through voluntary groups for provision, and that the accumulation is effective in solving the second-order dilemma. This analysis also shows that population growth increases the accumulation of public goods in the long run.     

Paving the (Hard) Way for Regional Partnerships: Evidence from Portugal

A fundamental dilemma which troubles advocates of interinstitutional partnerships in regional development pertains to the extent to which partnerships enhance the effectiveness of governance processes and outcomes. This dilemma is particularly relevant in contexts that lack strong cohesive regional development alliances, such as the Portuguese case. This article aims to shed light on the debate regarding the role of partnerships in regional development, drawing on a unique collaborative interinstitutional partnership. It explores the responses to complexity across the different stakeholders, as well as its effects at the formulation and implementation stages of the strategic plans devised to apply for EU funding. Findings suggest that interinstitutional partnerships induce significantly different allocative choices at the agenda-setting. However, the established partnership was unable to cope with the several obstacles that emerged during the implementation, suggesting several vulnerabilities of partnerships, which are explored. Findings suggest the need to reinforce governance mechanisms during the implementation stage.     

Does Familiarity Breed Contempt? The Impact of Information on Mass Attitudes toward Congress

Two features of citizen response to Congress can be taken as grounds for concern. First, Americans know relatively little about Congress, and especially about congressional procedures and policy output. Second, Congress typically emerges as the least respected political institution. Although these matters are troubling when viewed individually, more disturbing is the dilemma posed when knowledge and attitudes toward Congress are viewed in tandem. It appears that citizens who know Congress the best like Congress the least. Consequently, a sophisticated polity and a well-respected legislature seem fundamentally incompatible. This article seeks to resolve this dilemma, contending that there is nothing about knowledge per se that leads citizens to view Congress unfavorably. Rather, differences in knowledge levels alter the considerations citizens bring to bear when evaluating Congress, with the best-informed individuals constructing judgments on the basis of the most relevant Congress-specific criteria while less knowledgeable citizens employ readily available but more peripheral criteria.     

Asian crisis,transparency and the international media in Singapore

Abstract

The issue of Taiwan and relations across the Taiwan Strait is not only of fundamental interest to China, but also crucial to peace and stability in the Asian Pacific, thereby also making it of key concern to major players such as the United States and Japan. Beijing has faced enormous challenges over how to solve its dilemma. I would like to achieve reunification with Taiwan through a peaceful path, but perceive that it must be prepared for a war scenario if Taiwan insists on breaking from the mainland for its independence. The dilemma facing Beijing in terms of war or peace with Taiwan has become more acute since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) moved to power in 2000. This article analyses Beijing's dilemma over the above policy choices by examining five stages of Beijing's assessment toward regime change in Taiwan from late 1999 to early 2005. It also illuminates the potential impact on major power relations in East Asia.     

Hangin' ten: The common-pool resource problem of surfing

Surfers face a common-pool resource problem, similar to that faced by fishers. Although the ocean shore is a common-pool resource, each wave is a private good. Coordination is essential if a surfers' dilemma is to be avoided. I model this situation as a two-person, two stage game. I show that for many cases the subgame perfect equilibrium is socially optimal. In other cases, the equilibrium is not optimal. I argue that for these cases a surfers' etiquette has evolved in response to this dilemma. A first-to-the curl, first-in-right rule ameliorates but does not fully resolve the dilemma. In addition, a locals-only policy, a policy in violation of the surfers' etiquette, may be a rational response to a growth of inexperienced surfers on the waves.     

实验主义治理：公共治理的一个新路径

实验主义治理秉持以现实问题为导向和以经验证据为支撑的实证理念和循证品格,在纵向放权的基础上通过目标设置、差异探索、治理评估、政策迭代和政策扩散等机制探寻政策改进和治理优化的可行路径。作为一种新的治理模式,它的兴起是为了应对治理复杂性的挑战、弥补科层式治理的不足和探寻治理现代化的路径等。实验主义治理模式注重纵向放权、公众参与和多元协作,改善了公共治理主体间的关系,提升了治理的参与性、科学性和有效性,是科层式治理模式的重要补充。但在实践中,实验主义治理也面临着法治困境、创新困境和合作困境等现实难题。在我国推进治理体系与治理能力现代化的背景下,应当协调好实验主义治理中创新与法治的内在张力,完善治理体制与机制,提升实验主义治理的实践效能,从而使其在全面深化改革进程中发挥更大的作用。     

The Politics of ‘Third Country Equivalence’ in Post-Crisis Financial Services Regulation in the European Union

After the global financial crisis, the European Union has adopted a new regulatory approach towards foreign countries by making use of equivalence rules in finance. Why? This paper argues that it is the EU’s attempt to restore financial stability in its territory and maintain the competitiveness of its financial industry. However, this ‘old’ dilemma between stability and competition in financial regulation is further complicated in a regional jurisdiction, such as the EU, because different regulatory paradigms play off in the dilemma.     

Environmental Policy as Democratic Proclamation and Corporatist Implementation: A Comparative Study of Environmental Taxation in the Electricity Sector in the Nordic Countries as of 1994

The Nordic countries generally rank as one of the forerunners of environmental policies and figure in the front line with the most ambitious policy goals in international fora. However, since effective environmental action, for instance through environmental taxation, generally puts a burden on industry, a unilateral introduction of environmental measures by one or a few nations may seriously affect their industrial competitiveness, given an open and competitive economy. Given their persistent and often unilateral avant-garde environmental engagement, the paper discusses how the Nordic countries deal with this dilemma. Theoretically, the paper seeks an answer by recursion to Rokkan's famous distinction between functional and electoral/numerical politics. Empirically the paper finds support for the Rokkan perspective through a systematic analysis of Nordic environmental taxation policies, documenting that the two channels of policy making do indeed produce different results that are compatible with a dual-policy solution to the prisoners' dilemma of avant-garde environmental politics.     

The Puzzling Lack of a Social Dilemma

Among theories dealing with welfare state policy development, theories of social dilemmas and of key actor-group influence over government policy formation are increasingly holding sway. These theories emphasise that few would risk being unilateral contributors to the systems without any compensating elements. Thus, selective, means-testing systems or stingy universal systems in which some citizens 'contribute' while others 'receive' may risk being regarded as unfair in the eyes of the contributors in spite of the redistributive intentions. The degree of welfare state programme 'fairness' and reciprocity would, then, explain the degree of support for the welfare state. However, by using data from the United Kingdom and Sweden, this article will, first, claim that the social dilemma research turns a blind eye to the fact that public opinion in general as well as key groups appears to be able to yield its support even when welfare states contain distinctly selective elements and low-compensation universal programmes. Second, the article will elaborate on the confusion surrounding welfare state taxonomies as one plausible reason for why social dilemma theories may risk missing the target. Finally, the article will elaborate on the future of the welfare state as we know it. The main points are that given the fact that the welfare states in the two countries really already are conglomerates of different types of welfare programmes and, given a weak relationship between key groups and policy formation, the most likely future for the welfare state is that policies will continue to follow mixed paths.     

Government Transfers and the Samaritan's Dilemma in the Family

This paper examines the effectiveness of government transfersin overcoming the Samaritan's dilemma in a family in which thechild saves an insufficient amount in order to induce largerbequests from the parent. The results are as follows. First,exogenous government transfers do not affect intergenerationalconsumption allocation if bequests are operative. Second,assuming that government transfers are chosen strategically,the government precommits to such a level of transfers fromthe parent to the child that bequests become inoperative, andthus rids the child of the incentive for undersaving. Thisengenders an efficient intertemporal allocation ofconsumption.